A big strong deer can cover a lot of distance in a minute or two. If the exit wound was high (rib deflection) you may not see much blood for a while. The woods are thick right now, so I'm guessing he ran out of sight. Tracking is not always easy even on a well hit deer.I don't know how long he tracted him, but you have to stay positive and keep at it. I had a friend who helped me track a deer once who was totally negative during the whole effort. If you need help tracking, get someone who is as positive about the outome as you are. It helps.

Buckhunter, you may be right. My logic was that a fawns organs would be smaller than a 3.5 year old.

Goose, I think you're right on this one. A fawn's organs are probably smaller than a 3.5, or any mature deer for that matter. But, I think once they get to 1.5 and older, they are all about the same size. Don't quote me on this...Maybe we should do some research to find out![:D]

Now that statement is a bunch of hooey. Rage's are broadheads, no more, no less, and will ONLY do the job they're designed for if the archer puts them in the right place, AND they open sufficiantly. They are NOT supernatural. In fact, the Rage DOES have a higher rate of failure than a fixed blade head, so that may very well be his problem. He wouldn't be the first bowhunter to lose an animal to a switchblade type head that failed to perform.

Woods Walker I could not agree with you 100 % more. Just this bow season I hit a doe high with the 2 blade rage. The arrow passed through just under the back. I had bright red muscle blood and tracked her for 100 yards and she was fine. Just because people shoot the Rage broadhead doesn't mean they will automatically get the deer. Shot placement is key. I went back to my buddies camp after hitting that doe high and found my bow was shooting 6 inches high at 20 yards. I must have bumped my site.

I agree with WW on several items mentioned. First, he's correct in saying the Rage has more of a chance to fail than a fixed broadhead. It's a no brainer. Anything that depends on multiple parts or movement to fulfill it's duty, has a greater opportunity to fail. Shot placement is also critical, so the shooter has the responsibility to place that shot in the vital area on a LIVE animal, which is totally different (stress wise) than on a foam target animal. Nerves, tension, etc all play into the shot thus creating more stress on the hunter. Part of bow hunting is learning how to overcome these issues.

To answer the question regarding a big buck placement shot, the vital areas are the same, if not larger but the equipment you use is VERY critical in downing that animal! I won't use anything less than a 125 grain broadhead on a big buck. The 100 grains will work but in my opinion, you're asking for trouble. There is nothing like mass when it comes to destroying rib cage and shoulder blade bone and a mature buck's bones are very tough to pass through. Just my 2 cents worth!

"A fool learns from his own mistake but a wiseman learns from a fool's mistake "

I agree with WW on several items mentioned. First, he's correct in saying the Rage has more of a chance to fail than a fixed broadhead. It's a no brainer. Anything that depends on multiple parts or movement to fulfill it's duty, has a greater opportunity to fail. Shot placement is also critical, so the shooter has the responsibility to place that shot in the vital area on a LIVE animal, which is totally different (stress wise) than on a foam target animal. ...

Just for fun.

If you are defining failure as not killing a deer, then I don't think you can say that the moving parts of the Rage give it a greater chance for failure unless you are comparing it to a 2 inch fixed broadhead and I haven't seen too many of those around.

The question regarding failure is two part, will the Rage blades open, and will the hunter put the arrow where it belongs. I would say that hunters making poor shots occurs with greater frequency than Rage blades not opening. So... the Rage broadheads with their greater cutting area provide less opportunity for failure because they allow for greater error in shot placement. The potential failure of the moving parts of the Rage is more than made up for by its' larger cutting area given the performance of today's hunters out in the field, making them the better choice for most hunters.

(disclaimer: I've tried Rage broadheads, they don't fly like my fieldpoints, so I don't use them.)

Again, just for fun.

As for arrow placement on a big buck - pretty much like everyone else has said, the vital areas are the same.

“There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” Aldo Leopold

Ok I see what your saying.
In that case, anything with more surface area has a greater chance of planing. So a muzzy would be more prone to planing than a rage.
The steeper the blade angle the greater chance for deflection on quartering shots. So a muzzy MX4,3, or any fixed blade has a better chance of deflecting than a rage.
I am catching on now!

Jake

Genesis 27:3 Take your bow and quiver full of arrows out into the open country, and hunt some wild game.....

Q. Is your arrow placement for at Big Buck is different then on a smaller buck?
A. No.

Q. Can a deer survive a broadhead passing through the chest cavity below the spine?
A. No, but I have seen deer survive shots to the top of the back, but above the spine itself. I suggest this may be what happened.

Q. Does shooting a Rage mean that you will bring down whatever you hit?
A. No. It does make a very large wound but you still need proper shot placement.

Q. Is a Rage more likely to fail than a fixed blade?
A. Like Ranwin33 said, It depends on how you define "failure". If we are simply talking about the mechanical function, then yes I agree that the moving parts in the rage are more likely to malfunction than the non-moving blades in a fixed are to come loose. However, I would suggest that if we could scientifically study 100 shots taken at live deer with the Rage-2 and 100 with say the Muzzy 3 blade, with all other factors being equal, the Rage-2 would result in more recoveries. Just as the question of mechanical failure is a "no-brainer" the question of accuracy with a lower profile breadhead and the killing power of a 2" wound channel are also "no-brainers"